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Tilapia

There's no train to Phuket. Bus, minivan, taxi, bicycle, but no train.

If this were my trip, and I was planning on returning for Laos and Vietnam at some point, I'd skip Siem Reap this time around and add those days to Bali. Make it more worthwhile time and $-wise. I'd go to SR when in the area later on.

busylizzy

I agree with Tilapia. (Madmac....not so much!) Cut out either Siem Reap or Singapore. Even if you need to travel through Singapore, just do it in transit. To me, Singapore is just another big city - and expensive. You're already spending a few days in Bkk - I'd leave it at that. 8 days in Bali is almost never enough as there is so much to see and do, esp if you plan on circumnavigating the island.

Don't forget... each time you move from one place to the next, you'll chew up 1/2 to 1 day in travel time - including: checking in/out of hotels, waiting for taxi/bus/train/plane, getting to/airport, more waiting time, actual travel time, etc. You'd be surprised how much time can be lost on 'just a 2 hour flight'.

exacto

I actually loved Singapore the one time I visited way back in the late 90's. Chinatown. Little India. Orchard Road. Singapore Sling at the Long Bar at Raffles. National Museum. Wonderful food courts. But I was living in Bangkok at the time, so Singapore offered a bit of a contrast from the everyday in Krung Thep. I've often heard that folks visiting Singapore directly from Europe or North America are disappointed with Singapore because it feels so much like a big city back home and isn't as exotic or different as expected.

I also think that Siem Reap and Angkor Wat are so good that they are worth the extra time, effort, and expense to visit. My wife absolutely loved it when we visited, and she thinks everyone should see it at least once. So unless you are completely sure that you'll be heading back in the future for that longer trip through Vietnam and Laos, I might go for it this time. But if you KNOW you'll be back, then Cambodia is a natural fit with Laos and Vietnam, and that way you might get to see Phnom Penh and grab some Cambodia beach time too.

You've got five weeks, so while your itinerary is busy, it isn't completely frantic. You've got a week scheduled on both the Gulf side and Andaman side of Thailand, for example. I think you could shave a day or two from Singapore and still get a good sense of the city, or completely skip it as Lizzy and Tilapia suggest, if you were looking to add time elsewhere. If I had just one itinerary suggestion, however, it would be to book an open jaw ticket and to fly back to Europe directly from Indonesia rather than making your way back to Bangkok for the return flight. You'd save several days that way. But I fear you've already booked your round trip flights in and out of Bangkok, and can't make that change.

In any case, as the others have said, less can be more, and the long-time posters on this site definitely agree that the less time you spend moving from place to place, the better your holiday will be. Hope that helps. Have a wonderful time. Cheers.

p.s. for lizzy and tilapia. will you tell me more about your time in Bali and why you thought it was worth the extra time? you can pm me or email if you don't want to hijack this thread! thanks!

fideltravel

Joined Travelfish9th July, 2013Posts: 2

Thanks guys for the quick and broad answers, really appreciate it!

I will take out Siem Reap then, so I can add Cambodia to my Laos and Vietnam trip. As for Singapore, I know it's a globalized metropolis, and the prices are not so backpacker friendly - but I want to check out the vibe in the city, I'm really baffled by it's everything; thinking of going to expat a year or two there, so that's why I want to visit.

As for air tickets, I didn't book anything yet, want to do next week. The round trip to Bangkok costs around Â£500-600, and a single is around Â£450 to Bangkok and from Bali, if I double that, it comes to quite a hefty sum. So that's why I guess the round trip makes more sense.
Or are there any tips for multi-trips to save money?

tilapia and lizzy, please feel free to post into this thread if you want to share some real Bali pearls, my intention is to chill, learn to surf, go out and chill a bit more

exacto

check with your airline to see if they sell open jaw tickets. it isn't two single (or one-way) flights, but sort of a modified return (round-trip) ticket instead. if they do, you may get a still reasonably-priced ticket and save yourself the cost and time or returning to BKK as well. either way, good luck and have fun.